MANILA – Several immigration officers have been skipping work due to President Rodrigo Duterte’s veto of their overtime pay, and that has caused long lines at Manila's airports.The response of Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno on Monday, April 3: these immigration workers could be easily replaced since they hold “contractual” positions."Ang nature ng job nila ay job orders. 'Yung pagmamatigas nila, they can be replaced anytime 'pag hindi ka nag-report for work when you're supposed to work. Job orders sila eh saka contractual positions, hindi regular plantilla positions 'yan," Diokno said in an interview on GMA 7’s Balitanghali.(The nature of their work is job orders. If they continue to insist they can be replaced anytime. If they don't report for work, they can be replaced anytime. They're job orders, contractual positions.)They are part of plantillaDiokno’s statement is wrong, as immigration officers are part of the plantilla of the Bureau of Immigration (BI)."Yes immigration officers are holders of regular plantilla positions. Job Orders cannot perform immigration officer functions," said Antonette Mangrobang, BI spokesperson.Ironically, it is the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) that approves the creation of plantilla positions in government.The agency even recently approved the opening of 887 new plantilla positions, which will form the newly-created Port Operations Division of the BI.While there are contractuals in the agency, these are mostly in the main offices and are serving administrative tasks. Immigration officers, meanwhile, are those monitoring and securing the departure and arrival of citizens and foreigners in Philippine airports, among others.Rappler got hold of the appointment papers of two Immigration Officers I. Both documents indicate they were hired for the “permanent” position with a salary grade 11.Asked about the inconsistency, Diokno now said immigration officers are indeed "permanent" workers, contrary to his earlier remarks. He then added there are other types of employees in the agency."No. What you met are permanent workers. But that's not the totality of workers. In addition, there are job orders and contract of service (COS). The latter two types do not involve employer-employee relationship," Diokno said in a text message to Rappler.But in the earlier TV interview, Diokno was clearly referring to airport immigration officers as "contractual" employees.Misleading salary informationThe DBM also posted inaccurate information on the salary of immigration officers. In a press statement on Tuesday, April 4, the agency said these personnel earn P28,931 monthly without overtime.Immigration officers called this a "lie to mislead the public," saying they only receive a gross monthly salary, including allowances, of P21,286 with their salary grade. Minus taxes and deductions, they take home at least P16,484.Aside from the non-payment of overtime fees of immigration officers, Duterte's veto has also affected hundreds of contractual employees in the agency.Since January, the contractual staff have not been receiving their monthly salary despite going to work regularly, after Duterte scrapped the source of funds in the 2017 national budget.– Rappler.com